Coins of the Realm

Most of the people in Georgian England never handled banknotes. The wages for the servant classes for an entire quarter was usually less than the smallest denomination notes. The coins, as follows, were used for nearly all transactions until the wars with Revolutionary France caused a hard currency shortage. Notes were issued in £1, £2, and £5 denominations after 1797. At that time this lack of familiarity with banknotes made it easy for counterfeiters to pass their notes.

Not all coin denominations were minted every year especially after 1797 when the bullion needed for coins were also needed for the war efforts against Revolutionary France. This bullion shortage continued through the wars until after Waterloo. The government used the services of N. M. Rothschild in 1815 to acquire bullion from all over Europe to enable Britain to settle her payments to the Prussian, Russian, and Dutch nations.